Do the extra Old Testament books, like Tobit and Maccabees, belong in the Bible?
Some Bibles include Old Testament books such as Tobit, Sirach and Maccabees that others leave out; Protestants call them the Apocrypha, others the deuterocanonical books. The split is over whether they are Scripture or only reading that sits outside it, and two early writers on the map come before the argument started. That gives three views.
The 3 views side by side
| Not part of the BibleThe 66-book canon | Part of the BibleThe wider canon | Too early for the dispute |
|---|---|---|
| Are these books Scripture? | ||
No. They are not on the same level as the rest of the Bible. From Martin Luther, Westminster Confession, Second London Baptist Confession, John Calvin, Josh Howerton, Athanasius of Alexandria | Yes. Augustine accepted them; Aquinas worked with them, though with some hesitation. | Neither one gives a list of books. Chrysostom lived eleven centuries before the dispute this question comes from. |
| Why? | ||
Jesus and the Jews of his time used the Hebrew Bible, which did not include these books. Calvin adds that Maccabees apologizes for its own faults, so its author didn’t think he was writing Scripture. From Josh Howerton, R.C. Sproul, John Calvin | No worked argument is recorded on this map. Augustine’s influence shows in the councils of Hippo and Carthage, and his view put him at odds with his contemporary Jerome. From Augustine of Hippo | They don’t argue the point. Chrysostom simply quotes Sirach in the same breath as the Psalms. From John Chrysostom |
| Where they differ among themselves | ||
How useful the books are, and where the line falls. Luther calls them “useful and good to read,” Westminster and the 1689 Baptist Confession give them no more standing than any human writing, and Athanasius leaves Esther out but keeps Baruch in. From Martin Luther, Westminster Confession, Second London Baptist Confession, Athanasius of Alexandria | How sure they are. A Catholic reference work counts Aquinas among those with “some perplexity” about the books’ exact standing. From Thomas Aquinas | What they were concerned with. Chrysostom’s use of the books leans toward the wider Greek list, while Irenaeus defends the Greek translation itself, not which books belong. |
| In their own words | ||
“These books are not held to be equal to Holy Scripture, but they are useful and good to read.” | Nobody holding this view is quoted on this map yet. Their positions are summarised from secondary sources; open one below to see why. | “stretching forth his hands to God, the prophet said, "Let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice, set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, keep the door of my lips;" and he who before admonished, himself too says again "Who shall set a watch before my mouth, and a seal of wisdom upon my lips?” |
| On this map | ||
| 14 figures | 2 figures | 2 figures |
Who holds which view
12 other figures on the map have no entry on this doctrine. That means nobody has assessed them on it — not that they hold no view.
Not part of the Bible
66 books — Apocrypha useful but not Scripture
Part of the Bible
Wider canon — deuterocanonical books included
Too early for the dispute
Predates or straddles the settled dispute
Figures who hold no stance here
These are not gaps in the table. Each group below says which kind of blank it is — searched and not found, held open on purpose, never framed in these terms, or deliberately unassigned because no stance fits.
How to read a cell — sourcing tiers, blanks, and why some figures are never quoted
A cell marked quoted carries the figure's own words — 359 of 518of them, about 69%. Where there is no quotation the claim is still sourced, and the tier says how far. 3 figures carry no quotation at all, for reasons that differ: a living author cannot be quoted at length under copyright where Calvin can, and a figure at the standard account tier has simply had no primary-source pass yet. 3 of them state their own reason on their page.
A state label ending in ° was read from the stance, tier and note rather than stated on the map. See themethodology.